Low GRE score stories

[samman1994]

Hello everyone,

There are a couple of these but they are very old, and use the old GRE standards/scores and not the new ones. So I thought we could start up a new one. 

What was your "low" GRE score and what field/school did you get accepted into? If possible, could you also explain how you go into the program despite your GRE score (good gpa, good letters, etc.)? Note: Low is relative, but a score of 161 (albeit may be low in the field/school you were applying for), is not a low score in general. By low I'm generally speaking of anything below a 152 in either section V or Q. 

[Steph93]

I just took the GRE yesterday and got 151V and 158Q... Want to apply for Clinical Psychology and not sure if I should retake it or not. I'm interested to see some people's responses here!

[_kita]

56 minutes ago, Steph93 said:

I just took the GRE yesterday and got 151V and 158Q... Want to apply for Clinical Psychology and not sure if I should retake it or not. I'm interested to see some people's responses here!

Are you applying for a PhD or masters first? Is the rest of your application strong (high GPA, strong LOR, strong research and other experience, strong direction and SOP, great fit for the school)? All of those factors influence whether or not your GREs are "good enough" as they are middling-low.

So, for generic suggestion... find out the specific school averages or expectations. If you are below the school's cut off, apply elsewhere or re-take the GREs for better scores. If they have an average posted, meet that average. Sure, your application still make it to the 'short stack' for applications, but you don't want the GREs to be the reason you're cut later on. If you're school says they look at a holistic package, then your GREs are fine (as long as the rest of your application is strong).

 

@samman1994 I had a GRE (V) 160; (Q) 141; (AW) 5.5. 

 I was denied entry into the Johns Hopkins PhD Mental Health in the Bloomberg School of Public Health; however, I was offered the 1 year MHS Mental Health. I did accept the masters degree.

My first Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health had a 3.96 GPA, and I had over 7 years experience in clinical practice (severe mental illness) and teaching. Furthermore, my letters of recommendation were from my MA department chair, a county mental health service director (my boss' boss), and my graduate assistant boss.

I will say, a glaring hole in my application was my limited research background. Anything within the last 5 years of applying was all lit review! Furthermore, that research I presented on was not connected to my interests at the time. So, when they told me that I was a great fit, but I needed more research, I accepted the MHS and am now exploring DrPH options.

 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2017 by _kita

[Steph93]

@_kita I want to apply for a PhD. In the US, you can go straight into a PhD with a Bachelor's, though in Canada you need to complete the Master's first, so I'd be applying for a few (2-3) schools in Canada for a Master's that would continue into a PhD, and the remaining 13/14 schools would be a PhD in the US.

All other aspects of my application are great! GPA 3.8, 5 poster presentations, an Independent Honor's thesis (and a LOR from my supervisor), involvement in 3 different labs all related to neuropsychology, and an offer to move to San Diego after graduation on a specialized visa (I'm Canadian) to work (paid) as a Lab Manager and Research Coordinator (2 different labs), both of which I will be receiving LORs from my Supervisors. Overall the 3 LORs I have are from 2 clinical neuropsychologists and 1 Psychology Professor. As I was focused on the GRE, I haven't started with my SOP's or emailing POIs, but I am planning on starting this next week and having my SOP reviewed multiple times by my supervisors. In addition, I will only be applying to schools I have found faculty who are a good match for me (I've already cut a few schools off my running list because I wasn't able to find professors I'd want to work with). 

Most schools do have averages, and mine is just near the lower-end of that average. For example, some schools post averages from previous years of a combined V+Q of 314 or 312, and I am at 309, or a combined average of 67th percentile. Note that these are averages, which mean some students who had lower obviously were accepted. I had been studying for the GRE since March, and this was my second time taking it. My scores, within about 3 months of studying, went up to 160V and 158Q, but then started to drop off down to the 151/158 area. I believe it's mental exhaustion and burnout, but I don't necessarily have the time to take some time away from the GRE and then get back into it to rewrite if applications are due around Dec 1. 

Most schools I've been looking into also say that the GRE is only one part of the package and that it should not make or break you, but as you said, I don't want it to be the reason I'm cut off a short stack ultimately. Part of me is hesitant to invest the $1500-2000 to apply to all these schools this year and risk not being accepted because of the GRE, but the other part of me says just take the risk (it is, after all, a risk because it could be hit or miss).

Any advice is welcome!!

Edited August 16, 2017 by Steph93

[_kita]

From what I can see you are a great all around candidate. You should be fine without taking the GRE over again- especially with how wide a net you're making. I wish I had that much to apply back in undergrad!

As a general, unrelated, recommendation Look up PhD student profiles. I say this because some American PhDs (I live in the US) say that undergrad is welcome, but with the PhD competitiveness, might be taking primarly masters or undergrads from their own institution. That is doubly the case in any clinical psych subfield with the recession.

[Steph93]

20 hours ago, _kita said:

From what I can see you are a great all around candidate. You should be fine without taking the GRE over again- especially with how wide a net you're making. I wish I had that much to apply back in undergrad!

As a general, unrelated, recommendation Look up PhD student profiles. I say this because some American PhDs (I live in the US) say that undergrad is welcome, but with the PhD competitiveness, might be taking primarly masters or undergrads from their own institution. That is doubly the case in any clinical psych subfield with the recession.

@_kita Thanks! I'm still debating whether or not I should retake it, just because of my low verbal score. I don't know exactly where to look up the PhD student profiles. Most often, I can see the grad students for a program, but it doesn't normally show their background or CV. Also, a lot of the PhD programs offer a master's within the PhD that you complete by the end of your second year, so it seems almost unnecessary for me to go through the hassle of adding an extra 2 years and more loans to do a master's that I could complete within the PhD. 

I think my biggest concern is being taken out of the short stack of considerations or not even having my application looked at because of one score. 

[samman1994]

21 minutes ago, Steph93 said:

@_kita Thanks! I'm still debating whether or not I should retake it, just because of my low verbal score. I don't know exactly where to look up the PhD student profiles. Most often, I can see the grad students for a program, but it doesn't normally show their background or CV. Also, a lot of the PhD programs offer a master's within the PhD that you complete by the end of your second year, so it seems almost unnecessary for me to go through the hassle of adding an extra 2 years and more loans to do a master's that I could complete within the PhD. 

I think my biggest concern is being taken out of the short stack of considerations or not even having my application looked at because of one score. 

This same reason is why I'm applying to Phd programs as well .Keep in mind, each field and application is different, and despite my low GRE scores I do still intend to apply to some top tier programs. 

[_kita]

@Steph93 *nods* I definitely understand. That one little score can be frustrating. The question is whether you feel like your application makes up for that one score and demonstrates skills in that content area that the actual "raw number" did not. Since you are still on the fence about it, take it again. No need to have extra application anxiety over something you can fix.

Otherwise, when I say look up the profiles, usually that profile says their previous institution, degree, and research interests. If you see a masters on most of the current students, you have a benchmark for their research and experience expectations. For instance, I went to Hopkins for a masters. If you look up the profiles of the students in my department, people either had a top undergraduate or masters degree already in a science/research heavy program. You could also see several "med/bio" focused students.  We only had one direct from undergrad admission into the department. That insight let me know a lot about their admissions and program. It is the #1 school for public health, and only one with the department focus I wanted. But, knowing that I would not have applied direct from undergraduate. For me, the longer path has been more successful.

 

@samman1994 I definitely agree in that applications are field specific. Kidding, applications are individual school department specific! That's why I suggest knowing as much about the school and individual programs as possible (though I'm entirely biased since even getting $100 for applications was almost impossible). Good luck with application season!

[HeathermarieD]

I have really low scores, V: 150 and Q:145 and I am applying to both PhD and Master clinical psychology programs. The due date to most application are Dec 1 and I am currently finishing up all my apps. I am afraid my scores will be the main factor towards not being considered. One school allows me to write an essay on why my GRE scores are low and I really need some direct help on what to say that will beneficially help. I have attached my paper but I need some criticism on how I can better it. Also for the schools that did not ask for an explanation, should I attach this letter just for application review processes? In case there is a more lengthy response, my email is open for contact: heatherdesensi@aol.com. 

Heather Desensi Fordham Extra Cirrumstances.docx